ARSENAL manager Arsene Wenger may be ready to get rid of chief striker Emmanuel Adebayor in the close season, according to a Daily Star report.
The “Professor” is said to getting increasingly disillusioned with the Togo striker this season, after blocking Barcelona’s bid last season. The Catalan club is reportedly set to launch another bid at the end of the current season in a bid to replace Samuel Eto’o, who could be on the way to Inter Milan.
Should Wenger let Adebayor go and refresh his strike-force, possibly with Real Madrid’s Klaas-Jan Huntelaar?
THE POSTMAN LIM SAY HENG says: On paper, getting rid of your chief striker is a bad idea, especially since he bagged 29 goals in all competitions last season and is still among the club’s leading scorers in the Premiership this season.
But look closely at Adebayor’s game and you would realise that the lanky striker could have topped Cristiano Ronaldo’s 42-goal haul last season had he been more clinical in front of goal.
Arsenal could certainly do with a striker who has a better conversion rate, and do away with one who is increasingly becoming a prima donna.
(Picture: Reuters)
WELCOME TO THE POSTMAN'S NEIGHBOURHOOD 
Kanu’s long-lost brother would have been gone in January if I were in Arsene’s shoes.
Hey! I thought Andy Cole was bad in his days where he would miss easy chances every now and then, but Adebayor is worse! He is one of the main reasons why the Gunners are struggling this year. Yes, he still scores goals. But his conversion rate is appalling.
Given his poor form, I wonder why Barcelona would want to replace Eto’o with him. The Cameroonian is a much better striker than the Togolese one way or another. At this rate, Arsene needs to pray hard for anyone to buy Adebayor, even at a cut-price!
He is at most a decent player, not a great one by any means. Almost all the goals he scored last season must be credited to his teammates. He was blessed to have the likes of Fabregas, Hleb, Walcott and van Persie creating chances for him. Put him in a team like WBA or Stoke and he will struggle big time.
If I were Arsene, I would definitely sell him together with Bendtner in the summer, provided there are any takers! Eduardo, van Persie, Arshavin and Vela will form the nucleus of Arsenal’s future strikeforce. But if Arsene decides to put Arshavin on the left side of midfield, Huntelaar would be a good option for them. Their strikeforce does look a little lightweight, so the Dutchman can add some weight up front.
Also, the sale of Adebayor and Bendtner can bring in money for Arsene to spend on players. He desperately need more players if he wants to challenge on all fronts next season. Man United is a prime example because they have good back-ups in every position. In fact the Red Devils have the best squad because in some positions, they have 3 players fighting to go onto the pitch. For example they have the record-holder van der Sar, future England No.1 Foster and the dependable Kuszczak. Promising Rafael, Captain Neville and underrated Brown on the right, and Exciting Fabio, world-class Evra and versatile O’Shea on the left make Fergie’s options aplenty. Not to mention they have the likes of Hargreaves, Anderson, Fletcher, Giggs, Carrick, Scholes and Gibson fighting for the 2 central midfield positions.
Those strength in depth meant United are able to fight for every trophies, and they still are! If Arsene wants to enjot success, he needs to buy at least 1 goalie to challenge Almunia, 1 right-back, 2 centre-backs, Armand Traore to come back from loan to challenge Clichy, 1 right midfielder, 1 defensive midfielder and 1 more forward. That is 7 players altogether if they want to seriously fight on all fronts. I am not sure whether Arsene would be willing to splash the cash bacause he seems to have a phobia of taking in new players, especially those good established ones.
Selling Adebayor for about 20-30 million pounds and the disruptive duo of Gallas and Bendtner for around 10 million pounds would allow Arsene about 30-40 million pounds to spend on those 7 required players. And the Gunners will be better without these 3 overrated players in the team.
Comment by Loh Shengli, 24, Man United — February 20, 2009 @ 3:39 pm
Haiz our Shengli has to link every post to praising Man U, regardless the topic is about Arsenal, Chelsea, liverpool, or even young lions.
No offence but pls do not think Man U players are the best and other clubs players are not. You can praise the emerging Man U players you mentioned to the sky, but the same praise was on Luke Chadwick, Greening, Richardson when they first came out.
Comment by Aaron, Arsenal — February 20, 2009 @ 4:21 pm
Selling Adebayor is a must thing for Arsenal if they hope to be Title challengers next season.I don’t see Adebayor as a capable striker,he is a striker who gets a chance but then blew it again and the cycle just continue.Last season,Adebyor have done really well but i suppose that it is because he knows how to score but now,he seem to have lost his instinct.Another why reason why Adebayor should leave is because he loves money and obviously you can’t get it from Miser Wenger unless you are the so called “Perfect player” but do Adebayor look like?Sell him and use the funds that is generated and buy a more prolific player and we many see Gunners back in the Title race next season.
Norman Ng,14,Liverpool fan
Comment by norman — February 20, 2009 @ 8:53 pm
The main striker who has scored goals for Arsenal in the past shouldn’t be sold off just because he’s out of form. Adebayor has proven his worth in the BPL. His relatively subdued form could be due to the absence of Van Persie & Eduardo who links up well with Adebayor. And we all know Adebayor & Bendtner aren’t the best of buddies.
Wenger should keep Adebayor UNLESS a big money bid comes in for him, provided Wenger can find almost an identical type of striker, big & strong, if not better than Adebayor. Karim Benzema could be an astute signing for Arsenal.
But I could see Adebayor returning to his scorching hot form just about now with the purchase of Arshavin & the return of Eduardo, though the Croatian is out for 2 weeks.
Wenger always keeps his faith with most of his players & it will be the same with Adebayor.
Comment by Aidil B. 26 - Man Utd Fan — February 20, 2009 @ 10:28 pm
I think the Daily Star report is mainly tabloids and rumours. Nobody knows if there is any truth in the report as it paraphrases a lot.
Either way, I think Arsene Wenger should keep Emmanuel Adebayor as he can still contribute greatly to the Arsenal cause at the moment. Yes, he misses easy chances and open goals but which strikers don’t? Even world class strikers like Raul, Romario, Torres and Rooney miss easy chances. The strikers would not be worried about the miss, for they know they did well by getting involved and going into a goal scoring position.
Emmanuel Adebayor is only 24 and is the reigning African player of the year. His form may drop considerably compared to last season but 12 goals in 24 games in nothing to be ashamed of. Arsenal is without Fabegras and Rosicky for much of the season hence the midfield supply isn’t as abundant as last season. Besides, Adebayor had also chalked up 8 assists so far, this is better than the 5 assists he managed the whole of last season. This shows that he is developing another side of his game.
I also would not think Arsene Wenger would sell him unless there is a big offer for him as in the case of Henry and Anelka. Wenger would not break the wage structure for anyone in the club, so unless Adebayor demand a huge pay rise at Arsenal, Arsene Wenger will try to persuade Adebayor to stay. Selling Adebayor would limit Arsenal tactics as he is the only striker in the club that poses an aerial threat and hence giving his team mates the option of a long ball or early cross.
But again, we had seen Arsenal sell off their established players and come out well the following season. In the case of Adebayor, Wenger knows that Vela is almost ready to step up to play in the EPL at a more consistent basis. Hence it would not be a big disaster if Adebayor is gone. Eduardo, Van Persie, Bendtner, Vela and Walcott are still a pretty good strike force to be reckoned with.
As I mentioned earlier, Adebayor can still contribute to the Arsenal cause now. But once the debts of building Emirates Stadium had being cleared, Arsene Wenger might just shock everyone by buying big.
Comment by Chian Kong, Liverpool fan — February 20, 2009 @ 11:37 pm
I believe that after some shambolic displays, Adebayor’s market value has plunged and I cannot believe that Barcelona is willing to release Henry and replace him with Ade. He has always been a less than prolific striker and has a few mediocre seasons before topscoring last. He has returned to his old ways. While I think with Eduardo fit,Asharvin’s acquisition and Vela developing into a lethal front line threat, Arsenal should get rid of Adebayor and Bendtner. Of course Ade should fetch at least 15million before Wenger decides to sell him. He is one dispensable component of the Gunners which may be used to generate more funds. Of course I do not seriously believe Adebayor will live up to his big money price tag but there will always be willing buyers wanting to take a gamble or two. Look no further than the Eastlands. If Arsenal can sell Ade to Mark Hughes for a large profit, Wenger should personally gift wrap Ade and drive him over to City. After all, City is failing to attract the top tier strikers, Ade might boost their profile because of his Gunner’s pedigree. Apart from that, it would be hard to see the likes of AC Milan and Real Madrid willing to part with big bucks to get the Togolese striker on their books. Lastly, the first striker to go should always be Bendnter. I have always believed in his ability to score goals, in the Championship that is. Sell him to a willing struggling club for a large profit and use the money to rebuild. I am tired of seeing him and Ade head wide of the goal, slice their shots wide and miss so many gapping OPEN Goals. Someone ought to tell them hitting the back of the net is what counts, not trying to injure the spectators or cameramen everytime they are in the opponents’ six yard box.
Comment by Yam Hing — February 22, 2009 @ 1:23 pm
Yes, Arsene Wenger would be wise to sell off the ineffectual Adebayor.
Arsenal is obviously suffering from squad disharmony. Training fight between Adebayor and Bendtner, squabbling between Gallas and Toure are just some examples.
Perhaps Wenger is comtemplating getting rid of several trouble makers in the team, and Adebayor is one of those.
Below are more points why Adebayor is not as good as many perceived:
1. Cannot score against big teams
2. Strike rate not world class
3. Lack of strength to hold on to ball
4. Contributed little when asked to defend
5. Complacent at times
In addition, the return of Eduardo meant that Arsenal will not be lacking in the striking department, especially if we also take Van Persie and Bendtner into considerations.
If a good price were to be negotiated for Adebayor, then Wenger would have fund to strengthen his team’s defence and midfield, the areas where strength in depth is found wanting.
Thus, the departure of Adebayor would be step forward for the Gunners.
Adrian Lim, 29, Civil Servant
Norwich City Fan
Comment by Adrian Lim — February 22, 2009 @ 2:34 pm
It’s rather simple really.
1. If he can find able and good replacements who fit into the Arsenal mould of play, SELL him. If he can’t find anyone and as Arsenal’s squad is rather small, KEEP him. Don’t do a Benitez and sell without any backup plans. Look at Bruce at a relatively small club like Wigan, for everyone he sold, he replaced quite effectively.
2. If he’s a disruptive influence on the team, SELL him, but its a question of to what extent. Gallas was a disruptive influence but by keeping him (as Wenger has not found an effective replacement), but now he’s defending quite credibly. Is Adebayor so bad he needs to be kicked out ala Keane at Man U? If not, KEEP him.
3. I think Wenger’s focus should not be on SELLING him but identifying a good solid DCM. The irony is that TOTTENHAM’S Wilson Palacios would have been a good addition, I feel. So for the time being, KEEP him.
4. If Wenger can get a good price, like over 20 – 25 million pounds, SELL him. If no one in the Big League in the sky comprising Man U (who would never buy him), Liverpool (who would’nt either), Inter, AC Milan, Barca or Real Madrid don’t have the money in the current credit crunch, KEEP him.
It’s elementary really. Haha.
Comment by Jevan Li, 20 — February 23, 2009 @ 12:39 pm
Oops sorry i forgot to add Chelsea to the clubs in the “Big League in the sky”. =).
Comment by Jevan Li, 20 — February 23, 2009 @ 12:41 pm
Get rid of Adebayor. I pity Arsene Wenger. He had unearthed countless talents but most of them leave him like the Malay proverb – ‘Peanut Forgets Shell’.
Don’t Adebayor or people like Vieira realize that they will be nothing if Wenger don’t give them the platform to shine?
Adebayor will be sold at a profit. If I were Wenger, I’d retite. Too much pain are felt nurturing raw talents into superstars and then they stab you in the back when they become superstars.
Qyaerus-Syahrein, 27, Sengkang Punggol fan
Comment by Alex Hart — March 4, 2009 @ 11:47 pm